2006 – Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett dies aged 60. He defined British psychedelic eccentricity with songs like “Arnold Layne” and “See Emily Play,” but LSD and a mental breakdown forced him out of the band in 1968.
2003 – Ja Rule becomes the first high-profile international artist to tour South Africa.
Jeffrey Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper and actor signed to The Inc. and Universal Records formerly of Def Jam Recordings. A Hollis, New York native best-known for hits such as “Put It On Me,” “Between Me And You,” “I’m Real” and “Wonderful,” Ja Rule has released seven albums to date and sold over 20 million albums worldwide.
Biography
Early years
Born and raised in a Hollis, Queens, New York housing project, he attended Junior High School in Floral Park where he met his future wife Aisha Murray, graduating with her in 1991. They attended Martin Van Buren High School together, but he did not graduate.
When Atkins was five years old, his sister died from respiratory problems. His parents were Jehovah’s Witnesses. Growing up in a strict religious home, Atkin’s family did not celebrate birthdays and Christmas, and as a child, was not allowed to listen to rap music. When he first heard it, he decided to be a rapper. He would sneak the music into his house and played it on his CD player when his mother wasn’t around. Ja Rule allegedly stated that although he had previously attended a school in Queens, he transferred to a private school in Manhattan because of bullying about his small height. During his interview with Louis Farrakahn, he stated that he was the only black student at the school and said that because of his race, the other kids didn’t bother him.
At age 15, Atkins appeared with 0-1 and Chris Black as part of Cash Money Click which would lead to him being signed by TVT Records. Atkins was heard by a young DJ who called himself DJ Irv, and later Irv Gotti. Gotti was a friend of Jay-Z and a DJ for Def Jam Recordings . During the mid 90′s, Gotti was intent on meeting Ja Rule and helping him land a solo deal, eventually scoring one at Def Jam. Shortly after Def Jam decided to launch his career through the success of Jay-Z. Ja would appear on Jay-Z’s hit single Can I Get A… alongside Amil . Soon after we would quickly become one of the more popular rappers in the game as well as one of Def Jam’s premier acts.
Music career
Venni Vetti Vecci (1999)
On June 1, 1999, Ja Rule released his debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci. The album marked not only Ja’s debut, but the debut album from his label, Murder Inc. Records. Venni Vetti Vecci instantly launched Ja Rule’s career as he became a staple on hip hop and pop networks like MTV, VH1, and BET. The album featured “Holla Holla” along with “Its Murda” with Jay-Z and DMX. The final single was “Daddy’s Little Baby,” a duet with Ronald Isley. These three singles and the production coming from Irv Gotti along with performances from Memphis Bleek, Erick Sermon, Case, Black Child, Nemesis, and Caddillac Tah, then known as Tah Murdah, along with a notable performance from his mentor, Jay-Z led to the album going platinum.
Rule 3:36 (2000)
Ja Rule would return during the summer of 2000, with his new single “Between Me and You,” which featured Def Soul act Christina Milian. The single was quickly followed by Ja’s second effort, Rule 3:36, which was released on October 10, 2000. 3:36 also featured singles “Put It On Me,” and “I Cry.” The album featured guest appearances from Lil Mo, Vita, Christina Milian, label mates Jayo Felony, and Black Child. The album received mixed responses from critics due to its more commercial sound, abandoning a bit the darker street sound of his debut. Despite this, the album fared extremely well and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Charts, eventually going 3x Platinum. The release of this album marked a huge turn in Ja Rule’s style of music from a more hardcore edge to a pop crossover oriented sound.
Pain Is Love (2001)
Soon after the release of Rule 3:36, Irv Gotti would sign R&B singer Ashanti to the label, which led to Lil Mo ending her collaborations with the label. During the late summer of 2001, Ja Rule released the lead single from his third studio album, Pain Is Love, which was “Livin’ It Up.” The second single was the “I’m Real (remix),” and the third was “Always On Time,” and the last was “Down Ass Bitch.” This album is noted for two things the first is introducing a young Ashanti to the music business and the second is bringing Charli Baltimore back to the music business. Pain Is Love featured guest appearances from Case, The Murder Inc. Family, Missy Elliott, Jodie Mack, Tweet, Jennifer Lopez and a recording from the late Tupac Shakur. Along with its critical success it was also a commercial success it, like its predecessor went 3x Platinum.
The Last Temptation (2002)
Ja Rule would shave his head during the promotion of his fourth studio album, The Last Temptation. His fourth album was released on November 19, 2002. Although the album was fairly successful, certified platinum, it failed to carry the momentum brought by his previous album, criticized for being too commercial. It seemed that Ja’s popularity was starting to fade, due to many fan’s perceived notion that he was now catering exclusively to pop audiences.
Blood In My Eye (2003)
Blood In My Eye is the fifth album from Ja Rule. The content of this album led to a dramatic fall in his popularity. This album is also noted as the last Ja Rule album released by The Inc. Records under the moniker Murder Inc. This was partially due to Ja’s disses and death threats to adversaries, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes (a former associate), Eminem, Dr. Dre, DMX, and G-Unit. The album was originally planned to be a mixtape, but former label Def Jam Recordings forced him to release an album in 2003 to honor the contract, where he released an album every year. Blood In My Eye peaked at #6, but became his first album not to go gold or platinum, making it his lowest selling to date. On this album, Ja sparked rivalries with many artists on the Interscope Records roster. In October 2003, Ja Rule met with Minster Louis Farrakhan, who wanted to intervene and prevent escalating violence in the feud between 50 Cent and Ja Rule.
R.U.L.E. (2004)
Ja Rule returned to form on his sixth studio album, R.U.L.E. released on November 9, 2004. This album was considered a comeback of sorts for Ja as he attempted a return to mainstream success. The lead single was “Wonderful” which was followed by the street anthem, “New York,” the third and last single was “Caught Up”. The album featured guest appearances from Ashanti, Lloyd, Trick Daddy, R. Kelly, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Claudette Ortiz, Black Child, Caddillac Tah and many more. Despite not having the staying power of his earlier albums R.U.L.E. still managed to go gold, a feat he hadn’t accomplished since 2002 with The Last Temptation.
Exodus (2005)
On December 6, 2005, Ja Rule released his seventh album, which is nothing more than a greatest hits album. It featured only one new song “Exodus (Intro)” which was produced by Irv Gotti. The album was released to honor the contract with Def Jam so that The Inc. could get a fresh start with a new distributor. After the release of this compilation, Ja Rule took a hiatus from recording music.
Departure from Def Jam (2005-2006)
In 2005, The Inc. Records would come under investigation because of the drug trades by Kenneth “Supreme” Mc Griff, who is associated with Irv Gotti. This would all lead to Def Jam Recordings refusing to renew The Inc.’s contract. From 2005 to 2006, Irv would search for other labels, until finally reaching a deal with Universal Records.
The Mirror (2008)
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In March, 2008, Ja Rule planned to release his Universal Records debut and eighth studio album, The Mirror. The first single, “Uh Oh” was released on July 31, 2007 and premiered on music video shows the following day. This second single, “Body” was released in September. The album contains a collaboration with former G-Unit artist, The Game , whom he had once had a lyrical altercation with, called “Sunset.” The album was originally supposed to be titled Love Is Pain as a sequel to his album Pain Is Love. The album eventually was pushed back a second time with no definitive release date.
Personal life
Criminal charges
In 1999, he along with the rest of Murder Inc. were brought up on charges for assaulting 50 Cent, which led to a restraining order against them for 50. Also in 2003, he punched a man in Toronto for shouting at him in a crowd because of the 50 Cent feud. He would end up suing Ja Rule, but they settled out of court. In 2004, police investigated whether a feud involving The Inc. led to fatal shooting outside a nightclub party hosted by Ja Rule. In July 2007, Ja Rule was arrested for gun and drug possession charges along with Lil Wayne.
Romantic life
Ja Rule met his future wife, Aisha while attending middle school and they married when they were eighteen.
Homophobia
In the September 2007 issue of Complex magazine, Ja Rule was mistakenly reported to have expressed that homosexuals are to be blamed for the problems and destruction in the United States, and was disgusted at MTV’s promotion of LGBT television shows. He also spoke out about how hip hop is being blamed for more issues than homosexuality, and perpetuated the belief that gays are evil and corrupting music and television.
“ “And if it is, then we need to go step to Paramount, and fucking MGM, and all of these other motherfuckers that’s making all of these movies and we need to go step to MTV and Viacom, and lets talk about all these fucking shows that they have on MTV that is promoting homosexuality, that my kids can’t watch this shit,” he continued. “Dating shows that’s showing two guys or two girls in mid-afternoon. Let’s talk about shit like that! If that’s not fucking up America, I don’t know what is.” ”
His comments prompted a strong rebuke from GLAAD, who issued a public statement stating, “No fair-minded person can look at Ja Rule’s interview with Complex Magazine and believe for one second that his children could be more harmed by what they might see on television than by the vulgarity and prejudice that comes out of their father’s mouth. Now that media have seen Ja Rule’s intolerance unmasked by his own words, they have a responsibility not to provide in the future a platform for his ugly, vulgar displays of prejudice.”
It was later revealed that GLAAD had been mistaken and that he was actually mis-quoted in an interview with online MySpace interview channel The Hook Up on October 24, 2007. He went on in a January 2008 issue of XXL Magazine to state his words were taken out of context. He is quote as stating:
“ “What I was saying in that article is everyone has that same responsibility. They’re absolutely right: Rappers have a responsibility to the kids. But don’t just pin it on the hip-hop. If I gotta curb my lyrics or censor what I say, no problem. But if you gonna show sexual images during the daytime for children, that should be censored as well … And I’m not just talking about homosexuality. I’m talking about any sexuality. If it’s too sexy for kids, its too sexy for kids …” ”
Hip Hop entrepreneur
Aside from being president of The Inc. Records, Ja Rule is the owner and founder of Rule Global Media. This consists of Mpire Records, ErvingGeoffrey, and Stars On Poker.net.
The Inc. Records
Ja Rule co-founded The Inc. Records along with Irv Gotti in 1997. When it was formed, because of it being a vanity label, Def Jam owned a 50% stake in the label.
In 2002, Irv Gotti granted Ja Rule 50% of his share of the label due to his recent success on the charts. The next year, Ja Rule was named label president while Irv is the primary owner and the label CEO.
Mpire Records
In 2006, Ja Rule formed his own label to be distributed by The Inc., Mpire Records. To the label, he has signed Young Merc, Ashley Joi, D. Gift, Boxie, Tre, Newz, and Thunderkatz. He owns 100 percent of this label, which is a subsidiary of The Inc. Also signed to the label are his group Cash Money Click.
ErvingGeoffrey
In 2004, Ja Rule teamed up with Irv Gotti to create their own clothing line, ErvingGeoffrey, which is an urban wear clothing line. It is prominently featured in various Inc-associated videos and on their artists various albums.
Philanthropy
Atkins teamed up with associates of Tupac Shakur’s organization and founded L.I.F.E Foundation, which opens its doors to underprivileged kids. The foundation has various programs which include art, music, poetry and sports.
Discography
Main article: Ja Rule discography
* 1999: Venni Vetti Vecci
* 2000: The Murderers
* 2000: Rule 3:36
* 2001: Pain Is Love
* 2002: The Inc.
* 2002: The Remixes
* 2002: The Last Temptation
* 2003: Blood in My Eye
* 2004: R.U.L.E.
* 2005: Exodus
* 2008: The Mirror
Awards history
Award Category Genre Song/Album Year Result
Source Hip-Hop Music Award Single of the Year Rap/Hip-Hop “Put It On Me” 2001 Won
Source Award R&B/Rap Collboration of the Year R&B/Rap “Thug Lovin’” 2003 Won
Source Award Fat Tape Song of the Year Rap/Hip-Hop “Clap Back” 2004 Won
MTV Video Music Award Best Rap Video Rap “Put It On Me” 2001 Nominated
MTV Video Music Award Best Hip-Hop Video Hip-Hop “Im Real (Murder Remix)” 2002 Won
MTV Video Music Award Best Hip-Hop Video Hip-Hop “Always On Time” 2002 Nominated
American Music Award Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist Rap/Hip-Hop – 2002 Nominated
American Music Award Favorite Hip-Hop/R&B Male Artist Hip-Hop/R&B – 2003 Nominated
Grammy Award Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Rap/Hip-Hop “Put It On Me” 2002 Nominated
Grammy Award Best Rap Album Rap “Pain Is Love” 2002 Nominated
Grammy Award Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Rap/Sung “Livin’ It Up” 2002 Nominated
Grammy Award Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Rap/Sung “Always On Time” 2003 Nominated
World Music Award World’s Best-Selling Rap Artist Rap/Hip-Hop – 2002 Won
BET Award Best Male Hip-Hop Artist Artist Hip-Hop – 2002 Won
GQ Men of the Year Award Musician of the Year Rap/Hip-Hop – 2002 Won
Teen Choice Award Male Artist of the Year Rap/Hip-Hop – 2002 Won
NAACP Image Award Best Rap/Hip-Hop Artist Rap/Hip-Hop – 2002 Won
Soul Train Award Best Rap/Soul or Rap Album of the Year Rap “Pain Is Love” 2002 Nominated
Acting career
During his break from rapping, Ja Rule co-starred in the movie The Fast and the Furious with Vin Diesel. He appeared on the 2004 movie Back in The Day along with Ving Rhames and Pam Grier. He was also starred in the movie The Cookout with Queen Latifah. He is working on his bio-pic and on Saw IV.
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Da Hip Hop Witch Himself
2000 Turn it Up David ‘Gage’ Williams
2001 Crime Partners 2000
2001 The Fast and the Furious Edwin
2002 Half Past Dead Nicolas ‘Nick’ Frazier
2003 Scary Movie 3 Agent Thompson
2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead Himself
2004 The Cookout Bling Bling
2004 Shall We Dance? Hip Hop Bar Performer
2005 Back in the Day Reggie Cooper
2005 Assault on Precinct 13 Smiley
2007 Kenny TBA post-production
2007 Furnace TBA post-production
2007 Don’t Fade Away TBA post-production
1999 – Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson files a suit to dissolve a 1997 joint venture with Joe Thomas, who co-produced Wilson’s last album, the 1998 Giant release “Imagination.” The suit is filed by Wilson’s wife and conservator Melinda.
1979 – Guitarist and Little Feat founder Lowell George is found dead of a heart attack in a hotel room in Arlington, Va., at age 34. Little Feat’s best selling album is “Waiting for Columbus,” which sells more than 500,000 copies and reaches No. 18 on Chart Toppers’s pop album chart.
1977 – Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines of Lynyrd Skynyrd are killed when their rented plane crashes in a swamp near Gillsburg, Miss.
20 October 1977, 6:55 pm. While flying from Greenville, South Carolina to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s chartered Convair 240 aircraft crashed in a Mississippi swamp. The plane was carrying 24 passengers and 2 crew members. The band members on board were: Allen Collins, Cassie Gaines, Steve Gaines, Leslie Hawkins, Billy Powell, Artimus Pyle, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant, and Leon Wilkeson. Rumour has it that several of those involved had misgivings about flying on the plane, and that they planned to get rid of it once they had reached Baton Rouge. Cassie Gaines lacked confidence in the aircraft and Jo Jo Billingsley (who was not on the plane) had a dream that the plane had crashed. She called Allen Collins, asking him to tell the others not to get on it. Stage manager, Clayton Johnson, remarked afterwards that, “There had been a lot of mistrust of that airplane since we chartered it.”
The following account is from keyboardist Billy Powell:
“The right engine started sputtering, and I went up to the cockpit. The pilot said they were just transferring oil from one wing to another, everything’s okay. Later, the engine went dead. Artimus [Pyle] and I ran to the cockpit. The pilot was in shock. He said, ‘Oh my God, strap in.’ Ronnie [Van Zant] had been asleep on the floor and Artimus got him up and he was really pissed. We strapped in and a minute later we crashed. The pilot said he was trying for a field, but I didn’t see one. The trees kept getting closer, they kept getting bigger. Then there was a sound like someone hitting the outside of the plane with hundreds of baseball bats. I crashed into a table; people were hit by flying objects all over the plane. Ronnie was killed with a single head injury. The top of the plane was ripped open. Artimus crawled out the top and said there was a swamp, maybe alligators. I kicked my way out and felt for my hands — they were still there. I felt for my nose and it wasn’t, it was on the side of my face. There was just silence. Artimus and Ken Peden and I ran to get help, Artimus with his ribs sticking out.”
Artimus Pyle remembers strapping Ronnie Van Zant into his seat and trying to put a velvet cushion under his head. They crashed into a swamp in McComb, Mississippi, and the plane was destroyed by the impact. There was no fire. Two crew members and four of the passengers were killed; twenty others were injured. Those who were not killed lay for hours, awaiting rescue. Pyle, despite suffering a broken sternum and several broken ribs, ran for help. About a mile away, he came upon a farmhouse and ran, raving, towards it. The farmer, Johnny Mote, frightened by Pyle’s dirty, bloody appearance, mistook him for a madman and shot him in the shoulder. (The shotgun blast was not fatal.) Once Mote realized that Pyle was a refugee of the plane crash, he called for help.
Read the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) report about the cause and damage of the crash.
The effect of the crash was devastating. In addition to general cuts and bruises…
Allen Collins suffered two cracked neck vertebrae and an arm amputation was recommended. (His father refused.)
Leslie Hawkins endured a concussion, broke her neck in three places, and had facial injuries which required plastic surgery. She was partially paralyzed and suffered permanent neurological damage.
Billy Powell sustained severe facial lacerations. (Powell was the only band member well enough, on crutches and with his face in bandages, to attend the funerals of those who perished.)
Artimus Pyle suffered a broken sternum and several broken ribs.
Gary Rossington broke both legs and both arms and sustained a concussion.
Leon Wilkeson broke his jaw and had most of his teeth knocked out, suffered a crushed chest (with a punctured lung), almost needed an arm amputated, and he sustained internal injuries. (Wilkeson reportedly coded at the hospital and had to be revived.)
Those were the fortunate ones.
In addition to the pilot (Walter McCreary) and co-pilot (William Gray), Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Dean Kilpatrick (Skynyrd’s road manager) were killed.
According to Billy Powell on VH1′s “Behind The Music”, Cassie Gaines’s throat had been cut from ear to ear and she bled to death in his arms. He also stated that Ronnie Van Zant had sustained a severe head injury, which was the cause of his death. Powell’s account of events scandalized many associated with the band, and was contradicted by Artimus Pyle and Judy Van Zant Jenness (Ronnie’s widow). In 1998, the widow Van Zant posted Ronnie’s autopsy on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s website to prove the truth of his injuries.
Steve Gaines was 28. Cassie Gaines and Ronnie Van Zant were 29.
Steve and Cassie Gaines were laid to rest on 23 October 1977 in Orange Park, Florida. A private ceremony was held for Ronnie on 25 October. Among those who attended were Ed King and Bob Burns (both former members of Skynyrd), Billy Powell, Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers Band), Charlie Daniels, Al Kooper (founder of Blood, Sweat & Tears), and Tom Dowd (producer/engineer who had worked on the Manhattan Project). Merle Haggard’s “I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am” and David Allan Coe’s “Another Pretty Country Song” were played. Charlie Daniels read a poem, and with .38 Special, performed “Amazing Grace”. Ronnie Van Zant was buried to the left of Steve Gaines and in front of Cassie. Van Zant’s and the Gaines’ resting places were moved in 2000 after Ronnie’s and Steve’s grave sites were broken into and vandalized. The monuments (shown below) remain as memorials for the fans.
The band’s fifth album, Street Survivors, was released three days before the crash. The cover showed the band engulfed in flames. After the crash, the album was pulled from stores and re-released with new artwork, showing the band against a plain black background. Street Survivors went on to become the band’s second platinum album, and reached #5 on the U.S. album chart. The single “What’s Your Name” reached #13. Also included on the album is the song “That Smell”: “The smell of death surrounds you. The angel of darkness is upon you…”
Author’s note: What I find eerie is that, on the original cover of Street Survivors, Steve Gaines is positioned in the middle, consumed by flames. He perished in the crash. Next to him are Ronnie Van Zant (who also perished) and Leon Wilkeson (who seems to have received the worst injuries of the survivors and reportedly coded at one point). As you fan out, the injuries seem arguably less life-threatening – the next two are Gary Rossington and Artimus Pyle, then Allen Collins and Billy Powell – who sustained “merely” facial lacerations and general cuts and bruises. Cassie Gaines, not in the photo, but “close” to Steve because they were siblings, also perished in the crash.
In 1986, Allen Collins crashed his car while driving drunk near his home in Jacksonville, Florida. His girlfriend was killed and he was paralyzed from the waist down. He died in 1990 from pneumonia, which was a result of decreased lung capacity from the paralyzation. He was 37.
During the early ’90s, Ed King found Leon Wilkeson on the group’s tour bus, sleeping, but with his throat cut and bleeding. Wilkeson was taken to the hospital and recovered. It is still a mystery as to who was responsible – Ed King blames Wilkeson’s girlfriend-at-the-time. Leon Wilkeson passed away from liver disease in 2001. He was 49.
In 2006, Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The honorees were: Bob Burns, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Ed King, Billy Powell, Artimus Pyle, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant, and Leon Wilkeson.
1974 – Guitarist Jeff (Skunk) Baxter quits Steely Dan and joins the Doobie Brothers.
With Steely Dan
After the breakup of Ultimate Spinach, Baxter relocated to Los Angeles, California, finding work as a session guitarist. In 1972 he became a founding member of the band Steely Dan, along with guitarist-bassist Walter Becker, keyboardist Donald Fagen, guitarist Denny Dias, drummer Jim Hodder and vocalist David Palmer (and session player Elliott Randall on various tracks). Becker and Fagen were employed at the time as staff songwriters for ABC Records, and they formed the band as a vehicle to promote their songs.
Baxter appeared with Steely Dan on their first three albums, Can’t Buy a Thrill in 1972, Countdown to Ecstasy in 1973, and Pretzel Logic in 1974. Among his contributions was the guitar solo on the 1974 hit single “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”.
With the Doobie Brothers While finishing work on Pretzel Logic, Baxter became aware of Becker and Fagen’s intentions to retire Steely Dan from touring, and to work almost exclusively with session players in the future. With that in mind, Baxter left the band in 1974 to join The Doobie Brothers, who at the time were touring in support of their fourth album What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits. As a session man, he had contributed pedal steel guitar to “Black Water” on Vices as well as “South City Midnight Lady” on its predecessor, The Captain and Me. Baxter’s first album as a full member of the group was 1975′s Stampede. Baxter contributed an acoustic interlude entitled “Precis,” significant turns on slide and pedal steel guitar, and the guitar solo for the hit single “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)”.
While preparing to tour in support of Stampede, Doobie Brothers founder Tom Johnston was hospitalised with a stomach ailment. To fill in for Johnston on vocals, Baxter suggested bringing in singer-keyboardist Michael McDonald, with whom Baxter had worked in Steely Dan. With Johnston still convalescing, McDonald soon was invited to join the band full-time. McDonald’s vocal and songwriting contributions, as well as Baxter’s jazzier guitar style, marked a new direction for the band. They went on to continued success with the 1976 album Takin’ It to the Streets, 1977′s Livin’ on the Fault Line, and particularly 1978′s Minute by Minute, which spent five weeks as the #1 album in the U.S. and spawned several hit singles.
In early 1979, Baxter and co-founding drummer John Hartman left the band.
1970 – Emerson, Lake & Palmer give their debut performance in Plymouth, England.
Progressive rock can be a very disreputable subject. No other musical style has been so vilified by the critics and became a synonym for ‘pompous’ and ‘bombastic.’ Almost every music critic in the early ’70′s had something unflattering to write about it. None of them seem to have noticed that the genre combined the old with the new and brought things to popular music that simply wasn’t there before. Prog rock flourished during the early ’70′s but was wiped out almost completely by 1976- each of the bands who played it had to undergo changes in order to ensure their survival or else evaporate during the late ’70′s and the ’80′s.
It’s hard to decide which band best represents the genre. King Crimson’s debut In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969) might be considered one of the first pure prog rock album while Genesis’s Selling England By The Pound was the best prog album to my mind and Yes and Pink Floyd made a huge splashes on both sides of the Atlantic, but none of these bands was never really identified with the genre as closely as Emerson, Lake and Palmer (Johnny Rotten’s hatred of Floyd to the contrary). ELP shared prog rock’s great paramount and deep chasms, reflecting all that was good and bad in that time, which is known the age of the rock dinosaurs.
ELP, like many early prog bands, was an English group. Keith Emerson, its founder and keyboard player, began to take formal piano lessons when he was eight years old. He started to learn classical music but was fed up with “playing like Bach.” Later, he discovered jazz and started to perform in little clubs while he was in college. It was during that time that Emerson, searching for a new sound, purchased with the benevolent help of his father a new Hammond L100 electric piano. Later, Emerson would delve into the world of keyboards even further.
After playing in several bands, Emerson heard that P. P Arnold (then a successful solo singer and today a back up singer for ex-Floyd Roger Waters) was looking for players. He then formed The Nice, with the group playing behind Arnold. But after six months, they began performing by themselves. During late 1967 and early 1968, the band traveled in Britain with such names as Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix. In January 1968, they traveled in the U. S and came back to Britain just in time to see the release of their first album The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack (a pun on the band members’ names). They later recorded “America,” a work that combined Leonard Bernstein’s famous piece from the West Side Story with Dvorak’s New World Symphony and protest lyrics, making for a complex political statement (as well as a controversial once since Bernstein didn’t approve of it). During that time, Emerson began to use knives when playing. He nailed them to his keyboard in order to help him hold certain keys while he was playing. This was just one of his yet-to-come stage tricks.
The Nice recorded another two albums during the next couple of years, but in April 1970, Emerson decided that he had enough and the band ceased to exist. Nevertheless, their manager was able to piece together more albums based on live shows and out-takes and eventually try to piggyback ELP’s success to get some sales.
During a King Crimson/Nice show in 1969, Emerson met Crimson’s young bass player Greg Lake backstage. After a small chat, they have decided to form a new band in several months. Now with The Nice project finished, Emerson was ready to move on.
Greg Lake started his musical career when he was given a guitar by his mother. When he was just a school boy, he wrote the song that will later become one of ELP’s greatest hits, “Lucky Man.” During the late ’60′s, Lake played in several bands. One of these bands, The Shy Limbs, nearly got him killed. The band used to sleep in a van and eat from the hand to mouth. Eventually, Lake developed pneumonia and had nearly died before his mother sent him to a doctor.
When he played with another band, The Gods, he caught the attention of Robert Fripp who was searching a bass player for King Crimson. Lake sang and played bass on the band’s first album, In The Court Of The Crimson King. But Fripp’s tyranny made the members of the band bitter and Lake was searching for a way out. Eve after meeting Emerson and making plans with him, Lake still helped Fripp with recording the next King Crimson’s album In The Wake Of Poseidon (retained as lead singer but not bassist) and then went of to start his own new group.
But the duo was searching for a drummer. They met Mitch Mitchell, Hendrix’s drummer who didn’t want to join but tried to get Hendrix into the new band. After the couple decided to join Carl Palmer as their drummer, the British Press fantasized about a new band with two virtuosos such as Hendrix and Emerson and speculated that the band will be called Hendrix, Emerson, Lake and Palmer or HELP (which would have surely made for some hilarious headlines). But Hendrix died in September 1970, before this idea came to fruition.
Emerson and Lake found Carl Palmer after he was recommended to them. They bought an album of his band Atomic Rooster and liked what they heard so they asked him to join them. But Palmer said no at first; he has been working hard, along with Vincent Crane, to get his band running and didn’t want to throw it all away. He was playing professionally since he was 15 years old and just recently toured with The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown which had a U.K. number one hit chart single, “Fire.”
But after continuing persuasion by Greg Lake, he decided to join them for a jam session. He enjoyed it very much and the trio began to practice until May 1970, when Palmer finished his work with Atomic Rooster and thus, ELP was born. Like another then-recent supergroup, Crosby, Stills and Nash, the English trio took the audacious move of using the group members’ names as the name of the group itself.
During 1970, ELP recorded its debut album, which was called, appropriately enough, Emerson, Lake and Palmer. They drew attention from the beginning because every one of its members played in a famous group before ELP. They were a super group, a term that was given to Cream in 1967 and was quite common during the late ’60′s and early ’70′s when music world was managed like the NBA. The first album included a modern version of a Bela Bartok piece called “The Barbarian.” It also included one of their greatest radio hits, “Lucky Man”. Lake was also responsible for the recording and it gave the album a very unique final sound. Another instrument which was innovatively used was the Moog Synthesizer. Although the Monkeys played it in 1967, no other musician has gained control over it as did Emerson. He was the first musician to use it on stage and managed to get amazing sounds out of this analog multi-switched instrument., becoming one of the earliest pioneers of the synthesizer (inventor Bob Moog himself though of Emerson as one of the great exponents of his Moog synthesizer).
The band gained wide public interest at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, during which Keith Emerson, dressed in shiny robe, fired two cannons (thus slightly injuring an Italian camera man) and played his keyboard like a madman.
In early 1971, they released their second album, Tarkus- their first concept album – which was recorded in only two weeks. The main theme of the album (the first side of the vinyl album) is, unsurprisingly, “Tarkus.” Tarkus is a bionic armadillo who fights other bionic creatures until it is convinced by the Manticore (a mythical hybrid creature that’s part human, part lion) to cease from its deviant ways. You may say that the story is a parable about wars and the ill-necessity of machines, but ELP claimed that it didn’t have any such exalted intentions. Significantly though, ELP later named its record label Manticore Records.
Tarkus was very popular in Britain and reached 9 on the U.S. Billboard charts. Six months after Tarkus, the band released Pictures At An Exhibition (1972), a newly rearranged version of the famous piece by Mussorgsky which was recorded during a live show in Newcastle City Hall. The band had already played it before at the Isle of Wight Festival (with the shooting cannons). Pictures was a very controversial album. Some people thought that it was a great achievement in rock while some classical fans thought that it was a disgrace to the original composer and some classic rock fans thought that it was self indulgent, masterbative crap that had nothing to do with rock itself. While I might understand some of the detractors’ opinions, I still think that they have ignored the most important thing in this album- the fact that these players combined two completely different types of music into a wholly amazing piece. Instead of classical masters like Liszt or Rachmaninoff who run in a raging fury on a classical keyboard, we had a new one who combines an amazing technique with amazing technicality and creating amazing, weird and feel accentuating sounds. We can get a great sense of pace from the rhythm section as well, which combines a deep electric bass with excellent drum work. And isn’t it true that many times, great art initially faces controversy when it first appears? If one is listening to this piece without comparing it to its antecedents, one can hear that Picture At An Exhibition is a very innovative work like no other.
Another anecdote about this album is that during a 1993 show in Budapest, Lake saw a man crying on the front row. After the show he asked the man why he was crying, and he told him that 15 years earlier he spend three months in jail because the Communist regime found out that he had had a copy of the album. That was the power of such music and how it was both loved and despised so strongly.
In 1972, the band released their third studio album, Trilogy. This was another eclectic album which drew on classical sources, combining the works of Ravel with the works of Aaron Copland and, of course, highly skilled playing by the members of the band. The album also contained ELP’s best selling single, “From The Beginning.”
From 1972 to 1974, ELP were one of the most popular bands in the world. With the exception maybe of other great showmen like Alice Cooper and Kiss, their shows were the most extravagant seen. Emerson was breaking keyboards like Pete Townsend use to break guitars while he also used a special remote which allowed him to play without even touching the instrument. Carl Palmer modified his drum battery by adding all kinds of bells, tubes and percussions. Capitalizing on their success, the band started its own label in 1973 to manage their music and to help new prog bands to achieve exposure, including Crimson lyricist Pete Sinfield and Italian band PFM.
In 1973, ELP recorded another studio album, Brain Salad Surgery. The cover was designed by H. R Giger, which became one of the first high-profile gigs for the artists who later designed the set and creatures for the movie series Alien as well as David Lynch’s Dune and album covers for the Dead Kennedys and Debbie Harry of Blondie. The first side of BSS contains, like every ELP album before, a new version of previous works, this time William Blake’s “Jerusalem” and Alberto Ginstera’s “Toccata” (along with the stamp of approval from the composer himself). The rest of the first side contains two other short songs, including Lake’s lovely “Still… You Turn Me On” and a collaboration with Pete Sinfield. The end of the first side and entire second side of the album contained a 30 minute piece called “Karn Evil 9″ (a pun with carnival). The piece is divided into three parts and talks about the battle between men and technology (recalling Tarkus).
1974 was the best year in ELP’s history. The road shows were unprecedentedly grandiose, featuring twenty tons of musical gear. Lake played while standing on a 5000 pound rug because he was afraid two get electrified (he nearly did during an earlier show). Emerson’s piano flew and spun in the air while he was playing. In April 6, 1974 the band played at the California Jam rock festival after Deep Purple. 350,000 viewers watch their best performance and the show was broadcasted nationwide. Later on, they released a triple album to commemorate the tour with a title taken from “Karn Evil 9″ (Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends– Ladies and Gentlemen. Emerson, Lake and Palmer). ELP’s albums hit top of Billboard again and Melody Maker Magazine voted them as “Best Band” along with “Best Keyboard Player” and “Best Drummer” (leaving poor Lake in the lurch). But it was to be ELP’s, as well as the progressive rock’s, apex- from here the only way to go was down. Times began to change.
After the tour, the three had decided to take some much-deserved rest. During the next three years, they bought new homes, had some rest and worked on solo albums. When they came back, punk was the popular style of the day and one of the punk’s main targets were the progressive dinosaurs, who they painted as villains that were ruining rock and growing rich and fat from it.
During the next couple of years, the band recorded two “group solo albums” (1977′s Works) with a part for every member solo composition (and years before Outkast or Hella had the idea). A tour in 1977 was economically destructive for the band members, with a loss of nearly two million dollars. And then in 1978 came Love Beach, an album that was made because the trio was under contract and was forced to do the album. Even worse, from its Beach Boys title and sunny cover image, it’s the least convincing of all of their records. This was the end. In July 1979, ELP disbanded.
During the next 20 years the band reunited as Emerson, Lake and Powell (with Cozy Powell formerly of Whitesnake, Jeff Beck Group). Palmer was available as he was involved in the most commercial of all post-ELP projects- another supergroup called Asia (included former members of Yes and Crimson).Emerson, Lake and Powell disband in the late ’80′s but Emerson, Lake and Palmer reunited again. In the early 90′s, rthey ecording a new album (Black Moon) and embarked on a few tours during the 90′s, occasionally disrupted by Emerson’s problem with nerves in his right arm (no doubt brought on by years of his theatrical playing). ELP then ceased to exist once again in 1998.
The ELP phenomenon was not unique. Every prog rock band had to reinvent itself in order to survive the punk revolution and the shallow ’80′s. Of course, they had to do it because the bands members were accustomed to a certain living style they wanted to preserve, but the prog rock style itself became somewhat inadequate. In a world where punk could transfer the essence of a song in two minutes of guitar work, nobody needed a 15 minutes piece for the same task. The bright side is that today with the Internet revolution more and more bands can get exposure and the prog rock is more alive than ever, as witnessed by the subsequent math rock movement and groups like TV on the Radio and Radiohead who have picked up on prog’s threads.
But a parallel ELP can never exist. ELP symbolized progressive rock in all its glory, with thousands of fans, tons of technical music and a highly desired glamour. But here laid its weakness. ELP became literally too expensive to maintain. All the stage tricks, all the extra players and accessories led to a situation were the cancellation of one show could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The band’s pomposity was derided by almost many writers who instead of listening to the music as it was, tried to find the band’s faults. The fact is that few other bands has ever taught so many young men and women that classical music can correspond very well with modern rock and roll. No other band could have done it as good as ELP had.
Sure, you can say they were a bunch of self indulged hedonists and you might accuse them of plagiarism, but to me, ELP is one of the symbols of London during the ’70′s. Every time I am listening to one of ELP’s early records, all I have to do is close my eyes and I am there, walking from Oxford St. to Regent St. There you are, going through Soho, watching King Crimson perform in Hyde Park or David Bowie at the Hammersmith Apollo, or just wandering around in the streets of London at its peak; traveling in a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth.
1970 – Beck Hansen (born Bek David Campbell, July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist known by the stage name Beck. With his pop art collage of musical styles, oblique and ironic lyrics, and postmodern arrangements incorporating samples, drum machines, live instrumentation and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics and the public throughout his musical career as being amongst the most idiosyncratic artists of 1990s and 2000s alternative rock.
He rose to underground popularity with his early works, which combined social criticism (as in “MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack” and “Deep Fried Love”) with musical and lyrical experimentation. He first earned wider public attention for his breakthrough single “Loser,” a 1994 hit.
Beck has cited The Cars, Mantronix, Gary Wilson, Pussy Galore, Willie Dixon, Bill Broonzy, and Sonic Youth among his influences. Two of Beck’s most popular and acclaimed recordings were Odelay (1996) and Sea Change (2002). Odelay was awarded Album of the Year by American magazine Rolling Stone and by UK publications NME and Mojo. Odelay also received a Grammy nomination for Best Album.
Early life
Beck was born in Los Angeles, California to David Campbell, a Canadian musician, and Bibbe Hansen, a visual artist. His maternal grandfather was Al Hansen, a visual collage artist of the Fluxus school of art. His paternal grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, while his maternal grandmother was half Jewish; Beck himself is a Scientologist, as are his wife and his father. Beck’s mother also has Norwegian and Swedish ancestry. When his parents separated, Beck stayed with his mother and brother in Los Angeles, where he was influenced by the city’s diverse musical offerings—everything from hip hop to Latin music and his mother’s art scene—all of which would later reappear in his recorded and published work.
After dropping out of high school in the mid-1980s, Beck traveled to Europe and developed his musical talent by busking. In Germany, he spent time with his grandfather Al Hansen. The late 1980s found him in New York City, involved in the punk-influenced anti-folk music movement.
Career
Independent releases
In 1988, Beck recorded a cassette entitled Banjo Story, which has since become available in bootleg form. He returned to Los Angeles at the turn of the decade. To support himself, he took a variety of low-paying, dead-end jobs, and lived in a shed, all the while continuing to develop his music. Beck also sought out (or sneaked onto) stages at venues all over Los Angeles, from punk clubs to coffee shops and busking on the streets. During this time, he met Chris Ballew (founder of The Presidents of the United States of America). They performed on the streets as a duo for a while. Some of his earliest recordings were achieved by working with Tom Grimley at Poop Alley Studios, a part of WIN Records.
The founders of Bong Load Custom Records, Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf, and Bradshaw Lambert discovered Beck, signing him to their fledgling label. “Loser”, a collaboration between hip hop nuance producer Carl Stephenson and Beck, created a sensation when radio host Chris Douridas played the song on Morning Becomes Eclectic, the flagship music program from Santa Monica College radio station KCRW. That exposure and a subsequent live performance on the show July 23, 1993, led to a bidding war among labels to sign Beck. Eventually, he chose Geffen Records, who offered him terms that included an allowance for the release of independent albums while under contract. Of all the record labels to offer Beck a contract, Geffen offered him the least amount of money, but the greatest amount of creative freedom.
Mellow Gold and Odelay
Geffen’s official debut release in 1994 of Mellow Gold—culled from sessions with Rothrock, Schnapf, and Stephenson—made Beck a mainstream success. At the same time, he released Stereopathetic Soulmanure on Flipside Records and One Foot in the Grave on independent K Records. Beck took his act on the road in 1994 with a worldwide tour, followed by a spot on the main stage of the 1995 Lollapalooza tour. Some critics still panned him as a one-hit wonder, and audiences’ familiarity with “Loser” (especially at Lollapalooza), along with their apparent lack of interest in his other work, only reinforced his image as such.
When the time came to record his follow-up to Mellow Gold, Beck enlisted Rothrock and Schnapf as producers and began recording an album of moody, low-key acoustic numbers to showcase his songwriting. The melancholy musical mood has been attributed to the deaths of several people close to Beck, including his grandfather, one of his acknowledged greatest influences. Eventually, Beck shelved the album and pursued a more upbeat approach. Beck was introduced to the Dust Brothers, producers of the Beastie Boys’ album Paul’s Boutique, whose cut-and-paste, sample-heavy production suited Beck’s vision of a more fun, accessible album.
The result, 1996′s Odelay, would put the “one-hit wonder” criticisms to rest. The lead single, “Where It’s At,” received heavy airplay, and its video was in constant rotation on MTV. Within the year Odelay received praise from Rolling Stone magazine, appeared on countless “Best of” lists (it topped the Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for “Album of the Year”), received double-platinum status, and earned a number of industry awards, including two Grammys. Besides “Where It’s At” three other hit singles were released from the album: “Devils Haircut”, “Jack-Ass” and “The New Pollution”.
Beginning in 1993, “Loser” co-writer and Mellow Gold co-producer Carl Stephenson embarked on an experimental trip hop project which eventually resulted in Forest for the Trees, releasing a self-titled album in 1997 followed by an EP in 1999. Beck contributed to both records, providing spoken word, harmonica, and various other instruments.
Mutations and Midnite Vultures
Odelay was followed in 1998 by the release of Mutations. Though the album was originally slated for release by Bong Load Records, Geffen intervened and issued the record against Beck’s wishes. The artist then sought to void his contracts with both record labels, and in turn the labels sued him for breach of contract. The litigation went on for years and it remains unclear to this day if it has ever been completely resolved. Mutations was produced by Beck and Nigel Godrich (frequent producer and collaborator with Radiohead) and is believed to have been intended as a stopgap measure before the proper next album. Recorded over two weeks, during which Beck recorded one song a day, the sessions produced fourteen songs. Mutations was a departure from the electronic density of Odelay and shows heavy folk and blues influences. Songs on the album consisted of older tracks, some dating back as early as 1994.
During 1998, Beck’s art collaborations with his grandfather Al Hansen were featured in an exhibition entitled “Beck & Al Hansen: Playing With Matches”, which showcased solo and collaborative collage, assemblage, drawing and poetry works. The show toured from the Santa Monica Museum of Art to galleries in New York City and Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada. A catalog of the show was published by Plug In Editions/Smart Art Press.
In 1999, Beck was awarded Best Alternative Music Performance for Mutations at the 42nd Grammy Awards. In November, Geffen released the much-anticipated Midnite Vultures, which was supported by an extensive world tour. For Beck, it was a return to the high-energy performances that had been his trademark as far back as Lollapalooza. The live stage set included a red bed that descended from the ceiling for the song “Debra”, and the touring band was supplemented by a brass section. Midnite Vultures was nominated for Best Album at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Beck released a number of B-sides and soundtrack-only songs as well, including “Deadweight” from the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack, “Midnite Vultures” (curiously, not on the album of the same name), a cover of The Korgis’ “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” which appeared in the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and David Bowie’s “Diamond Dogs” from Moulin Rouge! He is also credited on the French band Air’s 2001 album 10 000 Hz Legend for vocals on the songs “Don’t Be Light” and “The Vagabond” (as well as harmonica on the latter). He duetted with Emmylou Harris on Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons, performing “Sin City”.
Sea Change
In 2001, the Beck EP, which consists of B-sides from the Midnite Vultures era, was released. The EP was only available from Beck’s website, and only 10,000 copies were printed.
In 2002, Beck released Sea Change, which, like Mutations, was produced by Nigel Godrich. It became Beck’s first US Top 10 album, reaching #8. The album also received critical acclaim, earning five stars from Rolling Stone (the magazine’s highest rating) and placing second in the Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 2002. Sea Change was conceptualized around one unifying theme: the end of a relationship. The album featured string arrangements by Beck’s father, David Campbell, and a sonically dense mix reminiscent of Mutations. Although some radio singles were released, no commercial singles were made available to the public. In August 2002, prior to the release of Sea Change, Beck embarked on a solo acoustic tour of small theaters and halls, during which he played several songs from the forthcoming album. The post-release Sea Change tour featured The Flaming Lips as Beck’s opening and backing band. A song Beck co-wrote with William Orbit, “Feel Good Time”, was recorded by pop singer Pink for inclusion on the soundtrack of the 2003 film Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.
Guero and The Information
In 2004, Beck returned to the studio to work on his sixth major-label studio album. The record, Guero, was produced by the Dust Brothers and Tony Hoffer and features a collaboration with Jack White of The White Stripes; it marked a return to Odelay-era sound. The album was released in March 2005 and enjoyed critical acclaim from most mainstream press, earning four of five stars from Rolling Stone, as well as a “Critic’s Choice” recognition from The New York Times. The album received a less enthusiastic response from Beck’s dedicated fan base; the album received a relatively low 6.6 (out of 10) score by Pitchfork alongside a lukewarm and disappointed review. Nonetheless, the album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts, pushing 162,000 copies in the first week and giving Beck his best week ever in terms of commercial sales and chart position. Since the release of Guero, the album’s first single, “E-Pro” (which samples the drum track from the Beastie Boys hit “So What’cha Want”), has been well received by the mainstream rock community, receiving significant play time on mainstream radio. The second single, “Girl,” received decent play time on mainstream radio and heavy airplay on college and independent radio. The third and final single of the album was “Hell Yes”.
On February 1, 2005, Beck released an EP featuring four remixes of songs from Guero by independent artists who use sounds from various early 8-bit video game devices like the Nintendo Game Boy. The EP, GameBoy Variations, featured “Ghettochip Malfunction” [Hell Yes] and “GameBoy/Homeboy” [Que' Onda Guero], both remixed by the band 8-Bit, and also had “Bad Cartridge” [E-Pro] and “Bit Rate Variation in B-Flat” [Girl], the last two being remixed by Paza {The X-Dump}. The EP cover art shows a long-haired person headbanging to his Game Boy, which is plugged into an amplifier like an electric guitar. This EP was featured in an issue of Nintendo Power. A music video for “Gameboy/Homeboy” was made by Wyld File.
Beck plays at the Sasquatch Music Festival in George, Washington. The screens show puppets that emulated the band throughout the show.
Beck plays at the Sasquatch Music Festival in George, Washington. The screens show puppets that emulated the band throughout the show.
Beck performed at the music and arts festival Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee on June 17, 2006, with a set that featured many songs from Guero. In addition to his band, Beck was accompanied by a group of puppets, dressed as him and members of his band. Live video feed of the puppets’ performance was broadcast on video screens to the audience. The puppet show was included throughout his 2006 world tour.
Beck’s seventh major-label studio album, The Information, which again reunited him with Nigel Godrich, was released on October 3, 2006. The release marked the first time in seven years that Beck released studio albums in consecutive years. The album reportedly took more than three years to make and has been described as “quasi hip-hop”. It came with a sheet of stickers, which were to be used to “make your own album cover.” Because of this, The Information was disqualified by the Official Chart Company from entering the UK albums chart, but in the US it gave Beck his third straight Top 10 studio album peak on the Billboard 200, reaching #7. The lead US single, “Nausea”, officially went to radio on September 5, 2006. In the UK, the first single was “Cellphone’s Dead”. On September 27, 2006, Beck released a Yahoo! Music Unlimited exclusive track, “Think I’m in Love”, before the album was released. His latest single, “Timebomb”, was released on iTunes on August 21, 2007, and the limited edition vinyl 12″ was released on November 2, 2007, with an instrumental version of the song on the B-side. In December, 2007, it was announced that “Timebomb” had been nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.
Modern Guilt
In February 2008, Beck stated in an interview with Rolling Stone that he had been working on a new album “with an unnamed producer” and that he expected it to be released by the end of the year. In early March 2008, the unnamed producer was revealed to be Danger Mouse. On May 5, 2008, MTV.com revealed that Beck would release an as-yet untitled 10-song album within the next four to six weeks. It was also reported that singer Cat Power had contributed to the album. The new album will be released on Interscope in North America and on XL Records in the rest of the world, although no official street date has been announced. On May 12, 2008, the Rolling Stone website revealed that the new album is titled Modern Guilt. On May 19, Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 show premiered single “Chemtrails”, and it was also made available on Beck’s MySpace and website. In early June, Beck performed several songs from the new album at The Echo in Los Angeles, backed by musicians including Jessica Dobson (also known as Deep Sea Diver). It was revealed on June 12 that Modern Guilt will be released on July 7, 2008, in the UK and Europe on XL Recordings, and on July 8, 2008, in North America on DGC. “Chemtrails” has been uploaded onto Beck’s official iLike profile , along with “Orphans” and “Gamma Ray”.
Musical style
Beck’s musical style has been considered alternative and indie. He has been known to play many of the instruments in his music himself. Beck has been known to synthesize several musical elements together in his music, including hip-hop, robot funk, and blues. He has also taken music from Los Angeles as a reference point in his songs.
Pitchfork Media applauded Midnite Vultures, saying, “Beck wonderfully blends Prince, Talking Heads, Paul’s Boutique, ‘Shake Your Bon Bon’, and Mathlete on Midnite Vultures, his most consistent and playful album yet.” The review continued to comment on Beck, saying that his mix of goofy piety and ambiguous intent helped the album. Sea Change was called “evocative music”, with country rock roots. The songs on the album also had “a warm, enveloping sound” with the help of his acoustic guitar.
Personal life
From 1991 to 2000, Beck was in a relationship with designer Leigh Limon. Their breakup is said to have inspired his 2002 album, Sea Change. He wrote most of the songs for the album in one week after the breakup. Beck married actress Marissa Ribisi, the twin sister of actor Giovanni Ribisi, in April 2004, shortly before the birth of their son, Cosimo Henri Hansen. Ribisi gave birth to another child in 2007.
Beck has been involved in Scientology for most of his life; his wife is also a second-generation Scientologist. Marissa and her twin brother, Giovanni, were delivered by Beck’s mother, Bibbe. Beck publicly acknowledged his affiliation with the Church of Scientology for the first time in an interview published in the New York Times Magazine on March 6, 2005. Further confirmation came in an interview with the Irish Sunday Tribune’s i Magazine on June 11, 2005, where he was quoted as saying, “Yeah, I’m a Scientologist. My father has been a Scientologist for about 35 years, so I grew up in and around it.” When questioned by the interviewer about Scientology’s core beliefs, he replied,
“ “What it actually is is just sort of, uh, you know, I think it’s about philosophy and sort of, uh, all these kinds of, you know, ideals that are common to a lot of religions….There’s nothing fantastical… just a real deep grassroots concerted effort for humanitarian causes.I don’t know if you know the stuff they have. It’s unbelievable the stuff they are doing. Education… they have free centres all over the place for poor kids. They have the number one drug rehabilitation programme in the entire world (called Narconon). It has a 90-something percent success rate… When you look at the actual facts and not what’s conjured in people’s minds that’s all bullshit to me because I’ve actually seen stuff first hand.” ”
Appearances in media
Beck has performed on Saturday Night Live six times; these shows were hosted by Kevin Spacey, Bill Paxton, Christina Ricci, Jennifer Garner, Tom Brady and Hugh Laurie. During his 2006 performance in the Hugh Laurie episode, Beck was accompanied by the famous on-stage puppets used during his world tour. He has made two cameo appearances as himself on Saturday Night Live: one in a sketch about medicinal marijuana, and one in a VH1 Behind the Music parody that featured “Fat Albert & the Junkyard Gang”. He has also performed on The Late Show with David Letterman alongside Borat in a 2006 episode.
Beck performed a guest voice as himself in Matt Groening’s animated show Futurama, in the episode “Bendin’ in the Wind”. He performed in episode 10 of the fourth season of The Larry Sanders Show, in which the producer character Artie (Rip Torn) referred to him as a “hillbilly from outer space”. He also made a very brief voice appearance in 1998 cartoon feature film, The Rugrats Movie, and guest-starred as himself in a 1997 episode of “Space Ghost Coast to Coast” entitled “Edelweiss”.
Discography
Main article: Beck discography
* Mellow Gold (1994)
* Odelay (1996)
* Mutations (1998)
* Midnite Vultures (1999)
* Sea Change (2002)
* Guero (2005)
* The Information (2006)
* Modern Guilt (2008)
1954 – Jermaine Jackson is born in Gary, Ind., the fourth oldest child of the singing Jackson family. He marries Hazel Joy Gordy, daughter of Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr., in 1973. He ain’t heavy… He’s Michael’s brother.
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